Aftermath
by Inspirablurr
Summary: 2 Titans in 2 years can take its toll, especially when you only just made it back from Tartarus. The future is bright and hopeful and everything finally seems to be working out, but sometimes the past is hard to leave. Especially when you're a son of Poseidon, anf there are a few loose ends to tie up. ((I don't own PJO or HOO))


Percy hated mornings.

Specifically, he hated the part of the morning that involved getting out of bed. _Who decided, _he thought bitterly, _that everything _has _to be done before 12pm? _No doubt there was some minor god out there responsible for that one. Yawning, he prized himself from his mattress and blinked sleep out of his eyes. With a start, he realised that he was absolutely 100% NOT in his room in the _Argo II. _The scent of the ocean and melodic trickling of water from the fountain in the corner reminded him that he was back in his cabin at Camp Half-Blood. Memories came flooding back. The giants at the Athena Parthenon, his fated nosebleed, fighting Polybotes with his father, the battle against Gaia's servants after the uniting of the camps, Nico coming out, and of course, Leo's sacrifice. A painful jab went through his heart.

_Leo._

He'd never really gotten to properly know the guy, but somehow Percy knew that their friendship could've been great. They had the same recklessness and ridiculous sense of humour. They even shared a tendency to hide their fear behind a cheesy joke. Unfortunately for Leo, he also seemed to have the same fatal flaw as Percy: the desperate need to save the world. Leo's heroic defeat of Gaia had cost him his life.

Percy changed quickly and headed out his cabin to the Mess Hall. Jason and Piper were already there, sitting opposite each other and talking in low voices. Apparently the rule about only sitting at your assigned table was no longer being observed. Percy joined them, taking a seat next to Jason. Being a son of Zeus, he radiated power and had smelt faintly of electricity. Once upon a time that would have been aggravating the Percy - Zeus and Poseidon had a somewhat dysfunctional relationship - but Jason was like his brother. Kansas was a thing of the past. Besides, Percy was dating a daughter of Athena, so godly rivalries didn't have much affect on him.

"Did you guys sleep okay?" Percy asked. It seemed an odd way to start a conversation, but after everything that had happened, they all had a lot on their minds.

"Not so bad. I just can't stop thinking about Leo," Piper said sadly. Her kaleidoscope eyes were more red than usual, and the harpy feather in her hair hung loosely.

"Pipes and I were just discussing what to say at his shroud burning. Knowing Leo, he probably has a script somewhere. "Here lies Leo, Bad Boy Supreme, Commander Tool Belt and The Tofu Taco Expert. He would like to personally apologise that he is no longer here to grace us with his presence." All three of them laughed at that.

"Actually, I was thinking something more along the lines of: 'Here lies the greatest demigod of all the time. Not only was he extremely good looking, funny, smart and loved, but he made the greatest tofu tacos ever." With a start, the three demigods turned to see a

familiar face in a hue of rainbow, grinning from ear to ear.

"LEO VALDEZ. I AM GOING TO TEAR YOU FROM LIMB TO LIMB AND THROW YOU TO TARTARUS." Piper bellowed. If wasn't for the giant smile on her face and tears of joy in her eyes, she would have been intimidating. Percy had yelled for the others to come as soon as possible, and all seven of them, plus Nico, Reyna, Hedge and calf of the camp were now gathered around the Iris message hologram of Leo. It was like a really intense Skype call.

"Easy there, Beauty Queen. To be fair, I _was _dead, but now I'm not so it's cool."

"How in Hades..." Hazel trailed off, too shocked to even finish her sentence. Leo explained how he had managed to arrive at Ogygia and rescue Calypso whilst sipping coconut milk through a straw. How on earth anyone could be so blasé about coming back from the dead was a mystery to Percy. Still, he couldn't help but be overjoyed that Leo was alive and well. He felt as though a huge weight of grief had been lifted from his chest and he could breathe properly now. He could hear Jason yelling curses in a mixture of Greek and Latin; something about a schist and someone's mother. After everyone had calmed down, Leo talked about his plans to show Calypso the world. She deserved it after being stuck on the same island for aeons.

"You'll visit soon though, right?" Annabeth said, in the kind of way Percy's mum asked him to do the dishes: it wasn't so much a suggestion as an order.

"You bet," Leo grinned, his eyes sparkling. I guess things were pretty good when you'd just defeated Mother Earth and rescued the girl of your dreams. Either way, Leo looked happier than Percy had ever seen him. He wasn't just a facade of jokes and humour now, he was genuinely happy. Percy's heart felt warm at the thought. The friends said their goodbyes and Leo's image disappeared.

That afternoon, the shrouds of the fallen were ceremoniously burned. Not everyone had been as lucky as Leo. Percy would've loved the have a whole stash of the physician's cure, but sometimes you just couldn't cheat death. Both Romans and Greeks stood to attention, paying their final respects to their comrades. Nico took the ceremony, and Percy couldn't help but think about what he had said the night before. Never in a million years would Percy have realised that Nico was gay. Then again, Nico had surprised him in many ways recently. He seemed so much more confident than the dazed kid he had rescued from Dr Thorn all those years ago. Nico also seemed happier. It was hard to work out how children of Hades were feeling, but the darkness that usually surrounded Nico seemed to be lessening. As Percy closed his eyes in prayer for the dead, he thanked the gods for the newfound happiness his friends had found.

That night, the beads were distributed to mark the events of the Summer. Etched upon it was an eagle sat in a pine tree, representing the uniting of both Greeks and Romans. Around the symbol of peace were the names of all those who had died. The bead hung next to the names of those who had died the previous Summer in the war against Kronos. Percy's heart felt heavy; too many lives had been lost over such a short space of time.

"Two Titans in 12 months. That's impressive, even for us." Annabeth commented, slipping her hand into Percy's. Percy smiled.

"What will it be next year? There must be some Titans we haven't fought yet." Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"We've fought enough Titans to last us an aeon."

"Okay then, how about some gods? I'm sure Ares would be down if I asked."

"Very funny, Seaweed Brain. Whilst you're at it, challenge Apollo to a rap battle." Percy chuckled, but he felt a stab of guilt when he thought about the guy. After all, asking about the physician's cure had probably landed him in an even deeper schist with Zeus. Annabeth seemed to read his mind and said,

"I'm sure he's fine. Zeus is all talk, it's Hera who does the cruel stuff. Besides, he's a god. He's got an eternity to get over it."

'I guess you're right."

"I'm always right."

"Whatever, Wise Girl." The two of them remained by the campfire until curfew before returning back to their cabins. Percy longed for the day that they wouldn't have to say goodbye every night. As he thought about their future together in New Rome, he knew it wouldn't be long until that day came.

**(Please give me feedback, I'd love to hear your ideas for this! :) )**


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